"...there's no time to go through the designs..."

Thank you Grizzly Bear for the unwanted reminder at 1 am last night.

Simple Pleasures

Earlier this week I bought a new box of pins.  Nothing fancy - just your standard pearl head pin ... a nice sharp tip and a good size head.  Strangely I found myself saving up the pleasure of opening the box.  I kept it sitting at home on my table for a little while until I could really indulge in opening it.  Now this may sound very odd to any of you who don't know the beauty of a new box of pearl head pins but to those who do I hope you feel me.  The outside of the box isn't all that.  Green, white, bad font ... generally pretty standardly boring.  But on the inside is some beautiful black paper which wraps up a bundle of lovely, pearly, glossy new pins.
It's funny how the simple things can bring such pleasure.  Every time I buy the pins the box is exactly the same yet I always look forward to opening it for the first time.  It's like your favourite piece of clothing - it doesn't have to be anything special as long as it has one little thing that reminds you of why you love it each time you put it on.

Borderline

Why can an interesting waistband design on a pair of mens pants deem said pants too be 'too womenswear'.  What is it about menswear that is so specific that one tiny design feature can fling the whole piece into the visually uncomfortable grey zone of 'too womenswear' infuriating it's designer beyond belief.  Is this grey zone such a bad thing anyway?

Hedi Slimane and Jethro Cave discuss ....

Images at http://www.hedislimane.com/fashiondiary/index.php?id=59

Appropriately Impractical

I've been toying with some design ideas that may make it slightly difficult for my models to walk.  I say slightly because it's not like they wouldn't be able to walk ... just that their stride may need be somewhat shorter than a natural walk.  If I were producing womenswear I probably wouldn't question the designs, we wear skirts and dresses that make it difficult for us to bend over, jeans that mean we can't cross our legs, tops that we know not to go out for a big meal wearing, full length dresses that we change the way we walk in - and many more variously impractical garments.  Menswear however seems to be a different story.  My guess is that it would be pretty hard to get a guy into something that impinged on his movement or general activities in any way.

So I kept thinking about it - how far can I push impracticality in design until it is inappropriate and unjustified?  Impractical design in womenswear can often lean toward S&M and fetish influences, rendering the final look rather sexy (in a rather unfeminist way).  When menswear begins to become restrictive however, it for some reason can play out in a less sexy manner, representing a loss of power - an idea which has been traditionally sexualised and often empowering in womenswear - but which does not necessarily work in menswear.

So how far can impractical design be pushed in menswear and how can it become sexy and empowering and avoid becoming ridiculous?  How far can you push these designs before they lose all commercial meaning and would never actually be seen on a man?  I haven't found the answers yet ... but if I do I'll be sure to let you know.

Image at http://www.imyouare.com/433/Bondage_Warriors_by_Steven_Klein

Joe Bananas

Today I walked past a shop that I have undoubtedly walked past many times.  What made the occasion special this time was that I actually noticed the store, stopped, stood at the window for a moment, pondered whether it was worth entering, and finally convinced myself that I probably just should go in since I was already in front of it.  The store was Joe Bananas, a simple, unpretentious menswear store in the QVB which sells mainly jackets, suits and some fairly loud printed shirts.  The designs themselves weren't anything unexpected of a menswear store - classic, easy to wear styles which most men would have some version of in their wardrobe.  What made a huge difference to these designs were the amazing fabrics used in the designs.  While not all of them were the most amazingly ingenious fabrics I had seen they were all unique, beautiful and unusual.

I chatted with the designer for a few moments about his label and from memory he said that the brand had been running for 25 (or was it 35?) years.  That's a pretty serious deal in the Sydney fashion industry where a brand that makes it past the 5 year mark is doing damn well for itself.  Clearly this label has been doing something right.  Joe Bananas is proof that good, successful, business-minded design needs a point of difference - found in this case through fabrics.

Sex Still Sells

Now I'm going to admit this right from the start - I don't really understand this film.  It doesn't speak loads about YSL as a fashion label, it kinda leans toward some fleeting ideas about YSL as a lifestyle brand, and as far as I can tell it doesn't really tell us a whole lot about the Fall 2010 menswear collection.  For what seems to be mainly an inspirational, aspirational, dreamy bundle of semi-naked and naked models, YSL has put a serious amount of effort, time and money into this project directed by Bruce Weber.  So there must be a damn good reason behind doing it.

My answer - sex sells.

It's an old story but it seems just as relevant in fashion today as it always has been.  What I find most interesting about the concept in this film is that the masculinity is being portrayed in a bizarrely feminine way.  The sexuality of the models in this film floats between friendship and far more than friendship in a very delicate, sensual way that would not normally be associated with traditional views of masculinity.  And then the baby at the end?  That completely throws a spanner in the masculinity works and takes us well past femininity and on into a strange maternal zone.

While we've all seen masculinity and various views of male sexuality being explored mainly in fashion photography for years, it's interesting to see it played out in film.  So maybe YSL wasn't even trying to create a film about their label or their collection.  Perhaps this film is more to do with getting in touch with the kind of masculinity and sexuality that is influencing and inspiring YSL at the moment.  Whatever their reasons - the film is a nice piece of work.  Sex definitely still sells, perhaps just in a different way to how it has in the past.

'Ain't Nothin Like the Real Thing' - Bruce Weber for YSL
Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrezl40Ezgn or on the YSL website http://ysl.com/us/en/index.aspx

Still Stupid

And another from Diesel.

My official design philosophy - may extend to life philosophy in time.


Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=589qKh_IeLI

Be Stupid

With a lot of talk going on at uni about creating the most amazing, innovative collection that you could possibly think of, there is a fair amount of pressure to be creative - really creative.  Sometimes pressure can be a good thing - other times it can just be really, really frustrating and make you sacrifice the fun of taking chances in favour of playing it safe for something that you know will work.


Two things recently have reminded me that it's worth taking a risk, and it's way more exciting.


1. A conversation with a good friend who somehow linked fashion design to aeroplanes, who suggested that the first person to suggest that a flying machine which could carry hundreds of people around the world would probably have been laughed at but look at 'him' now ... so you should just design whatever the hell you believe in.


2. This video from Diesel who's current catch phrase is 'Be Stupid'.  Thanks to the lovely Ele who's blog I discovered this little number on.  A timely reminder to be a bit stupid and do something challenging and exciting.



Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTTz1E1uyfE

At the Heart of Menswear ... is the Man

Still bamboozled about Henry Bucks being Australia's favourite menswear store, I've been questioning just how far menswear can be pushed.  Are we stuck in a menswear cycle of standard fits, basic shirts and functional foundations?  Is experimental menswear part of the future of mens fashion or are menswear traditions too dominant for men to adopt a more unique or individual sense of style?

In a lecture this week, a leading designer in a giant Sydney fashion label sent out a warning to any of us designing for men.  She recommended that 'at the heart of menswear is the man'.  One of the problems of experimental and innovative menswear is that it can occasionally forget about the man that has to wear the clothes.  While there is a current trend toward a more feminised male, this is not to say that he has given up his masculinity.  He may be more aware of fashion than previous generations, more willing to take fashion risks and certainly more comfortable in adopting a more individual style - but underneath this is still a man who probably wants to be recognised as one.  He will still pick function everyday and select garments that reflect, while not necessarily following, menswear traditions.

In the preface to Fashion Now 2, an i-D magazine encyclopedia of designers, editor Glenn Waldron pretty well sums it all up.  Menswear focuses "on the substance of 'style' over the transient nature of 'fashion'."  A nice approach really in what can sometimes seem a rather frenetic and frivolous industry.  Menswear is more about an evolutionary process than the quick turn over of new trends in womenswear.  So while the classic black suit will never be 'out', hopefully experimenting with it will become more and more 'in'.

Raf Simon's take on the suit for Fall 2010.  Image at http://www.gq.com/fashion-shows/complete/F2010MEN-RSMEN

A Buck Short

Today I tried a little experiment ... I typed 'menswear' into google wondering where it might take me.

The first link on the list was to 'Henry Bucks Menswear Store', with a short descriptive account that 'Henry Bucks showcases the worlds finest and most wearable mens clothing from top European brands.'  Now I don't know exactly how google search results function but my belief is that the most popular links pop up at the top.  So my powers of deduction tell me that Henry Bucks is a pretty popular little dig for menswear browsers.  Figuring that this store must carry all my menswear needs I decided to spend some time taking a look at what it has to offer and I must admit that I was rather disappointed.  All I seemed to be turning out was standard menswear styles, classic suits, standard pants, boring shirts.  I have no doubt that all of these garments would have been beautifully made in expensive fabrics but all I could think of was how boring it all seemed.  Certainly all of the garments showcased in Henry Bucks have a very clear and stable place in the menswear market but is the most popular menswear link on google really this store?  Is 'the fabric of the city' really a black wool suit as advertised in the Henry Bucks Autumn catalogue?  Surely not.  I like to live in hope that maybe Australian men, or at least the younger generations are becoming more experimental than relying on classic suits and cotton shirts but perhaps I'm mistaken?

Standard menswear shot at http://www.henrybucks.com.au/

Conscious Clutter

What is it that is so appealing about mess?  A cluttered room for me has always been a sign of a creative or curious soul.  A strange collection of random objects, rather than telling a story about their owner, in some way serves to render them all the more mysterious.  What would my muse clutter his surroundings with? Where would he store it all?  What would these objects expose or deny about my man?

Jeff Wall, After "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison, The Preface, 1999-2000

Image at http://www.mariangoodman.com/exhibitions/2002-09-20_jeff-wall/

Kirrily Johnston Spring/Summer 2010/11

How refreshing it was, amidst the fashion frenzy, to see Kirrily Johnston once again throw some unique yet wearable menswear at us!  Let's face it - everyone loves a male model - and are they not all the more enticing when layered up in something a little out of the ordinary?  It's not an easy thing to work mens and womens wear into a cohesive collection but Kirrily seemed to achieve this rather effortlessly through relaxing, wearable shapes that might actually hit the wardrobes of some of the more fashion thinking men out there.  While her menswear is a little less fashion forward than some of her womenswear, it is has been designed to be worn, which ideally is what menswear boils down to.  Australia is slowly stepping up our menswear and building a rather neat little portfolio of menswear designers.  With a bit of luck (and perhaps a little push from the ladies), we might begin to see some well considered mens fashion really take it's place within the market.

Image courtesty of Grazia http://grazia.ninemsn.com.au/slideshow_ajax.aspx?sectionid=8828&sectionname=catwalk&subsectionid=204832&subsectionname=rafwspringsummer1011_kirrily_johnston

New Avenues

A beautiful friend at Moda Communicator (go there for more online wonders) has gotten me all excited about online fashion communication and they way that the fashion world is now turning to the internet as a serious means of reaching fans, designers, academics, consumers and just about anyone who has some interest in the fashion world.  The internet has certainly exploded in terms of its significance in fashion, and with lucky (or seriously talented?) little 13-year olds such as Tavi popping up at fashion shows world wide, how can we possibly ignore the potential for web-based fashion promotion and communication.

Blogger and photographer Olivier Zahm at Purple Diary spoke to Dirk Standen of Style.com  in a series of interviews about the future of fashion and suggested that the internet is not a creative medium for fashion and that true creativity for fashion and fashion photography still lies in the papery realms of the magazine.  To some extent I agree with Zahm - there is absolutely a quality caught in the pages of fashion magazines that becomes lost when those images translate over to the internet.  But the internet has also given rise to new possibilities for fashion which cannot be explored simply through fashion photography.  I've posted previously on the potential of artistic collaborations which in that particular case was made possible through web-based media but the more I read, hear and see about the internet being the right or the wrong medium for fashion intrigues me all the more into the issue.
I have never been one to trawl the internet for scraps of fashion related finds.  I don't shop online, I don't jump into the new collections as soon as they're put up on Style.com and I've never found the computer screen the most inspiring place to find or express ideas.  I do however use the internet constantly.  I know how efficiently I can find images, information, videos or whatever I may need and I am quickly learning that the internet can be a very effective mode for recording and in turn communicating ideas, thoughts and inspiration.  For me, the fact simply is that whether we like it or not fashion will become more and more filtered to us via the internet so we might as well learn to roll with it.  A pretty exciting concept if you ask me.  Already we have seen some amazing exploration of fashion through the internet and undoubtedly this will become an increasingly exciting area to work within.
While fashion film is not the only avenue which has opened up through web based media - and one which certainly didn't begin through it - it has become a popular and engaging medium for designers and consumers alike.  The great thing about fashion film is that it toes the line between traditional advertising and traditional fashion photography, not committing itself to one or the other and become a rather exciting brand artwork in itself.  While this video is not the only example of fashion film out there I think that it achieves something unachievable by the pages of a magazine.  It functions to provide that missing link once the catwalk show is over and we're left to understand the collection through photographs and drawings.  It serves a purpose of prolonged communication, an idea that hasn't existed in this scope until recently and for this reason deserves to be fully explored.

Posted below is a fashion film by Joost Van Gorsel at Iconique for the Jan Taminiau Spring/Summer 2010 collection 'Duality' which provides far more meaning for the collection than is received through a line up of the catwalk looks.  While fashion photography can be incredible when worked through with the right stylist and the right ideas, fashion film is succinct and direct.  In this clip, the doubling, the spinning and the winding rise and fall of the music which everything is set to so simply and effectively conveys the off-centered nature and concept of the collection - an idea which is unlikely to have been communicated as such in any other format.

Enjoy!

Video at http://www.jantaminiau.com/

Sartorialist Style

Once again I'm going back to something that Kate Vandermeer of ISpyStyle shared with us in her lecture a few weeks ago.  Now if you don't already know The Sartorialist I urge you to head over there and have a quick scroll before trying to make sense of this post.  Scott Schuman - 'The Sartorialist' - basically rolls around the world taking snaps of attractive, fashionable people and posts them up for all us style hungry folk to munch through.  I can't tell you exactly how many thousands of followers are mulling over his blog daily but I know that the number is huge.  He has somehow managed to develop a rather wonderful online style mecca and since it's on the web for the whole world to follow - it has worked.  

The styles picked up by the Sartorialist are pretty well synonymous with the blog and instantly on trend simply because they fit into the 'Sartorialist-like-styling' category.  The gang at Refinery29 have picked up on some trends that The Sartorialist seems to lean towards and formulated a lovely little flow chart to help us get 'snapped' by the main man himself.  While I'm sure it's not foolproof - it is very funny and very, very true.  A really strong sense of style runs through The Sartorialist's blog and if he were to decide to design a label I think we could all predict the direction of the collections.  The most interesting part in his formation of such an identifiable style is that it is pretty well globally known (not to mention that this worldwide recognition is primarily through his blog!).  Sadly I haven't been able to find a copy of the chart which is high enough quality to post up here for you so you're going to have to do some work and head to Refinery 29 and have a look for yourself.  It's interesting to see that his blog and his style interests have such a strong common thread that can be summed up so succinctly and charismatically by Refinery29.  Have fun!


Some examples I paired up for you ...

Refinery 29: "Want to increase your chances > Yes > Add One > Pop of Colour"

Image at http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/42010Pinkhat_6023Web.jpg

Refinery 29 "How about pants, you got those? > Of course > Cuff 'em, roll 'em, make 'em too short."

Image at http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/42010London_5961Web.jpg

Floaty Fishy Things

For some odd reason I have been thinking a lot about things that float.  Ducks, parts of dolls,oil, wood, leaves, bubble wrap, lucky people with better buoyancy than myself ... and the list goes no.  I'm not exactly sure what prompted these thoughts but unfortunately for me the list is almost never ending.  So when I stumbled across this stunning editorial for Vogue Nippon with styling by George Cortina, photography by Sølve Sundsbø I was most excited to add the ethereal model Alla Kostromicheva to my list.

The shoot itself is beautiful.  While underwater scenes are not new in fashion photography they often work to capture a really interesting quality in both the scene and the garments.  I think what has worked so well in this instance is the other-worldly feel that has been given to the shoot.  In each shot the texture of the garment could be that of a sea creature and in hiding her hair and ears, she becomes something non-human herself.  There's a beautiful eerie atmosphere through the whole editorial that is tied together so closely through texture, colour and weightlessness and the mix of vulnerable, protective, fetal, and almost dead or lifeless positions that she is captured in throughout the series.  Sundsbø and Cortina have been so succinct with what they wanted in this editorial and the result is highly successful.  I have fallen so in love with it that I couldn't choose favourites and had to post them all.

'The Girl From Atlantis' images at http://papermode.cyanatrendland.com/

Marnie Skillings Spring/Summer 2010

New Zealand beauty Zippora Seven.

Image at http://twitpic.com/photos/marie_claire_au

Yesterday was the Marnie Skillings Spring/Summer 2010 show 'Lady.Nimble.Shadow' ... and what a show it was.  Nestled away in the Royal Botanic Gardens Marnie and stylist Emily McGregor set up a stunning scene for the event complete with an array of quaint vintage outdoor chairs, old books, posies in glass jars, hanging birds nest ferns and a happy crowd of well-fed, well-watered and well-dressed Skillings fans.

While I could sit here and tell you how amazing the collection was (which it was), and how fabulous the hair and makeup was (which it was also) and of course how wonderful the models were I think the really amazing thing about the Marnie show was just how much work was put into creating the complete picture for her guests.  While the seriously desirable clothes spoke for themselves with the styling, hair and makeup all working perfectly into this, Miss Skillings gave us everything we could have ever hoped for in a fashion show.  The entire scene - with the vintage garden references, sweet smells, indoor/outdoor setting of the Palm House in the Royal Botanic Gardens, fern fronds unfurling from twine baskets hanging from the ceiling - perfectly complemented the range and the label itself and made the day a wondrous event.  Which is exactly what a fashion show should be.  Sure when it comes to the crunch fashion is a business just like any other - but it's a business built on desires and dreams and sometimes it's nice to see designers that still have these same aspirations rather than them simply flogging frocks on the runway.

With Sydney fashion week just a few sleeps away now it will be interesting to see if other designers have followed suit and approached their show in the same way with such a focused, brand specific outcome.  Will Marnie's show be the first in a string of delightful all-encompassing events or the clear standout in a standard season?

The beautiful outdoor setting.

Image at http://www.vogue.com.au/people+parties/galleries/palm+wednesday,9537?pos=1#top

Carrying inspiration right through from prints to the show itself.

Image at http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/marie-claire/fashion/rafw/article/-/7123662/review-marnie-skillings/

Marnie Skillings Time lapse of show from Rachel Papandrea on Vimeo.

Fleeting memories of the day

 http://vimeo.com/11293528

Girlfriends

Richard Prince captures attitude.  This guy is someone that seriously knows how to grab a moment in time and bring us into it with him.  There's something about the energy and rawness in his images that stop me every time I see one and get me hunting down more.  He's a bit of a jack-of-all-trades with his art moving around from photography to sculpture to paintings but for someone who tries his hand at anything he seems to pretty well always get it right.  Prince is definitely out there to shock ... and once his shocking tactics are in motion he's set off on his next shocking delight which means that right when you thought he had been too blatant or rash in his work, the next set is up and rolling and far move deviantly exciting than the last.

I have a personal favourite from Prince which is his 'Girlfriend' series.  I think that I tie these lovely ladies in with my muse as they have that raw, rugged, confrontational sexuality to them which Prince has captured flawlessly.  In an interview I read a long, long time ago with Prince (in Russh magazine) he mentioned that bikers and their girlfriends are not something that he actually has any interest in but that his fascination for this series was this idea of a factual reality that is for some reason somewhat unbelievable.  Now I will admit that I have not read said interview for quite some time now and that the message may now be somewhat misconstrued, but even if it is I like the general idea of it.  There is something appealing in these shots because it has a certain feel of being 'other'.  These girlfriends are not like any girlfriend and probably not like yourself so while we know the images to be true, (because isn't that what a photograph is - the truth?) we still don't quite believe this scene with which we are so unfamiliar.  Anyway that's probably enough from me.  Basically I love it.  It's raw, its exciting, its full of attitude and through all this its incredibly compelling.

Untitled (Girlfriend), 1993, Ektacolour photograph.  

Source unknown (Sorry I've had this one floating around for years.)

Untitled (Girlfriend), 1993, Ektacolour photograph.

http://www.serpentinegallery.org/Untitled%20(girlfriend)%201993%20RP757.jpg

Wayward Women

I have a strange fascination - possibly even an obsession - with crazy, wild or insane women in films.  I'm not really sure exactly what it is that draws me to these characters but there is something in their sexuality, vulnerability,  passion and their confrontational personalities that keeps me searching for more of these characters.  I've slowly built my muse around this wild picture of a woman who is threateningly assertive, irrational, emotional, occasionally deranged, and excitingly sexualised.

I'm sure that she will come up a few times throughout this blog especially as I start getting into the designing of my collection so I thought that I might introduce her to you now.  While the following two are not the only examples of my muse they are certainly strong representations of the woman that influences my work.  She's some wild mix of Maria-Elena (Penelope Cruz in Woody Allen's 'Vicky Christina Barcelona'), Betty (Beatrice Dalle in Jean Jacques Beineix's 'Betty Blue') as well as all the thousands of representations of irrational, crazy and deconstructed women that appear within the works of the Surrealists - something which I'm sure I'll no doubt come to.  For now however let me introduce you to Maria-Elena and Betty...

Penelope Cruz as Maria-Elena - image at http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/N2MGr69d8E2/Vicky+Cristina+Barcelona+Movie+Stills/-Zma0rlbU7T/Penelope+Cruz

Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PuFOTjtk8

Beatrice Dalle (Betty Blue) - image at http://www.gala.fr/var/gal/storage/images/les_stars/leurs_bio/dalle_beatrice/images/beatrice_dalle/312387-1-fre-FR/beatrice_dalle_reference.jpg

Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YydulEgsTOE

Web Based World

Last week I attended a lecture by Kate Vandermeer of iSpyStyle who filled us in on all the ins and outs of the online fashion world.  For what can end up a relatively dry topic, she did a damn good job at making me realise just how huge the role of the internet is on fashion and actually got me rather excited by the idea of this global network that is practically uncontrollable and unstoppable.  You can access pretty well anything these days with a few clicks of the mouse and a well considered key-word search.  It would seem that barely anything (especially in the fashion world which is so fixated on the now) can be kept from instant, worldwide coverage which basically means that as consumers/designers/creatives/viewers or whatever category you would like to slot yourself into - we have to be a part of the world wide web to be a part of our industry.  For fashion, an industry which once relied on rather rigid hierarchal systems where only the privileged had access to designer goods and knowledge, we're suddenly in a world where every Tom, Dick and Harry can peer through the latest haute couture well before it gets anywhere near the magazine stands.

Some of you have probably seen this but I saw it for the first time in Kate's lecture and it somewhat blew my mind.  From what I can determine the video is about 2 years old which means the statistics are potentially even more phenomenal (or scary - however you want to look at it).  Anyway I hope you are as struck by all of this as I was.  It's a crazy, crazy web based world we're living in!

Something Sandy

Here is an odd one for you.
Completely unrelated to pretty well anything that I have mentioned on this blog - this is a video of moving sand that does some very cool things with the help of some little holes.  I was somewhat enchanted by the little flick as well as the amazing patterns it created so I thought I might share it with you...
Enjoy!

Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgRA-6Fi6wk&NR=1

Obscurity

I walked past a small art gallery today which was very unfortunately closed, as it is so nice to procrastinate in an art gallery and justify to yourself that you're 'working'.  Anyway, since I couldn't go in and look I propped my hands up on the glass and peered in, trying to make sense of the huge amount of smallish photographs posted up on the walls which were battling with the glare from the sun on the window and the reflection of my face and the street behind me.  Mostly images of faces, I wondered what the exhibition was all about.  Who were these people?  Why were their faces in an art gallery?  Are they somebodies or nobodies?  Are they all women?  No, that one is definitely a man.

It struck me how intrigued I had become by the exhibition.  The obscurity of the images through the glass and the ambiguity of the people in the images without having any knowledge of what the exhibition was, made the experience far more interactive than had I walked straight into the gallery, read about the exhibition, looked at the faces, nodded politely at my favourites, before walking out the door with my thoughts undoubtedly returning immediately to everything other than what I had just seen.

The experience got me to thinking that there is something important in leaving little clues for people while not unraveling the full story.  I've made up my own mind about the exhibition and it is likely to be completely unrelated to the artist's meaning but this to me is part of creating and experiencing art and design.  By not issuing orders on what your work means you let everyone who views it take their own story or experience away from it.

I could return and go in for a proper look but I think I might prefer the blurry faces that my mind has retained - window glare and reflections included.

McQueen - Think King

I was flicking through 'Fashion at the Edge' by Caroline Evans and came across an interesting section on some of the twisted and dark influences that seem to continuously infiltrate the thoughts of us fashion designers.  One of the more striking images was from Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer 1996 collection 'The Hunger'.  The model's clear plastic bustier isn't actually painted on as I initially assumed it to be but filled with worms squashed up against her flesh.  Suddenly what was was an oddly painted bustier has become so much more with the knowledge that those swipes of paint are actually worms writhing around on her skin.  I am far more intrigued by the image and the concept behind it than when I believed to know what I was looking at.  Always the one to challenge fashion and its wide array of associations, McQueen is definitely the king of making us think.  There is a clear attempt to make us uneasy with what we are looking at ... and it works.  The amount of times that I have flicked back to this image to take yet another look is probably slightly excessive but I think it proves my point in my previous posts, (Engaging and Walk The Line) that design needs to make us think to make a difference and be noticed and absorbed.  I'm taking a lesson from McQueen when I design and rethinking what I believe to know and maybe, hopefully, might be able to make people think myself.

(Image at http://estb.msn.com/i/12/2BA77821B3CC61355687D11E7DE.jpg)

Engaging

Ahhh M. C. Escher ... how you continue to enthrall me.  I have had a fascination with Escher's amazingly impossible prints and drawings that seem to defy all of the laws of physics taught in school up until year 10 which is when I ran far, far away from practical sciences.  For me, there is nothing more satisfying than trying to nut out how a design works - especially when that design seems to disregard all logic.  There is something so fun and satisfying about letting your mind having to search for understanding in something which would generally seem so obvious.  I fall into an intense engagement with his work which continually brings me back again and again to the artist.  There's definitely something to learn in there for artists and designers alike.  A creative work should be thought provoking and unimaginable prior to its existence. Creativity should express the unexpressed and excite people, repel people, confuse people, delight people.  It should trigger a reaction or emotion each time that it is seen or used.  Design should engage people like Escher has engaged me after years and years of pouring over the same images in continual amazement of his impossible worlds.

M.C. Escher - 'Ascending and Descending'

Image at http://libai.math.ncu.edu.tw/~shann/Teach/liberal/CMW/Escher/impossible.html

Walk the Line

Image by Kelsey Brookes

What is it about the appeal of a design that presents you with the unexpected?  If these two skeletons were girls with pigtails would we really give the image a second look?  If the colours were dark, mysterious or sombre would the overly obvious, standard skeleton mood bore us?  Where and when does design become intriguing and worthy of investigation?  Does interesting design play with peoples assumptions, making us question what we already know of our world?  How can a designer walk the line between the known and the unknown and force people to react, to have an opinion, to respond and question what is assumed.  How can we, as designers, carry the known into the unknown?

Being Born Again

On the 22nd of April Sydney is in for a live collaborative explosion of our very own.  How apt that I have only just posted about how important and successful joint ventures into creativity can be when I find out that new fashion label D&Em will be launching their new art/fashion collaborative collection at an event called Being Born Again Couture Fashion.  The D&Em line sprung from early collaborations with artists and now focuses creating a fusion of fashion and art by working with artists such as Susan Andrews, Andrew Hopkins and Parris Dewhurst.  D&Em call their work 'ready to wear art' and push fashion to that art/fashion border which can be oh so much fun but sadly sometimes oh so scary.  In this instance...things seem to be going oh so well.
The pair have teamed up ten designers with ten artists of their own choosing and asked the designers to develop a couture piece for what sounds like an amazing show with not only the launch of D&Em and the collaborative couture show, but all sorts of artworks and performers in the setting of a beautiful old sandstone jail cell at the National School of Art's Cell Block Theatre.  Between light based artworks, trapeze artists, fashion designers and a bundle of musicians the event should really show off just what creative collaborations can do.
Sadly we'll have to wait until then to see the results of the collaborations but I've been lucky enough to have had a sneak peak and things are looking amazing!  One of the collaborations is Sydney designer Marnie Skillings using Tracey Moffatt's work as inspiration...I'm picturing some very, very wonderful things!

Image (Marnie Skillings Spring/Summer 08/09)

Image (Tracey Moffatt 'Invocations #2', 2000)

The Fidelity of Images

So I Know that I was focusing on the idea of the 'muse' but all my thoughts about Namalee Bolle and her influence on the Basso & Brooke shows got me to thinking about the circular nature of the design world and the way that designers, artists and just generally creative people tend to influence one another's work and come together in a big mish mash of good ol' creativity (for us fashion heads the collection as seen on the catwalk is usually this - sound/fashion/accessories/art/illustration/hair/makeup/styling).  So I headed over to Hint Fashion Magazine and thought that I might have a browse through some of their archives of web editorials and found the perfect little example of how creative people and creative industries can work together and influence each other in simple, accessible and effective ways. 

Hint Mag has some amazing collaborative works within their archives and it is definitely worth a browse if you enjoy seeing the creative ventures of a whole bunch of individuals being thrown into the melting pot.  The idea of these moving editorials for web based media has huge potential and people have been doing amazing things with it for a long time so sometimes it's nice to go back and look through the different approaches of different artists.  The idea that poetry, sound, illustration, styling, photography, animation, fashion, hair styling, make up and who knows what else can come together to help convey moods, themes and emotions so powerfully is something to consider for all designers.  Collaborations with the right people can be the most successful way to push your work to a level that you never expected it could be, but perhaps envisaged in your mind.  It could also make for an interesting study on how individual works could be adapted and appropriated through unconnected artists, changing the original meaning and developing skewed understandings.  Considering the stunning and thought provoking  editorials in Hint, here's hoping we continue to see even more web based fashion collaborations.

Here's a peek at a personal favourite, La Fidélité Des Images.  The piece showcases the photography of David Fischer, artworks by Hannes Schmidt, styling by Jane Garber, lyrics by Ulf Aminde, sound by Tim Tim, illustrations and animation by Christopher Wendland and model Tim Morten.  Unfortunately I cannot put the whole video up on my blog for you but I have managed to  get you a couple of little snapshots which will hopefully be tempting enough for you to check it out yourself!

http://www.hintmag.com/lafidelitedesimages/lafidelitedesimages.html

Introducing ..... Namalee Bolle

In pondering the role of the muse I thought I might jump back a post or two to Basso & Brooke.  Their print work walks a fine line between art and fashion and got me to wondering who a brand like that might have as a muse.  My guess would have been a relatively zany character, someone who was pretty out there styling wise and all in all, a seriously strong individual with an equally strong sense of personal style.  And so who did I find but the wonderfully wacky Namalee Bolle.

If you've had a look at my post on Basso & Brooke (http://designbrainbucket.blogspot.com/2010/04/while-were-on-print.html) you're probably already joining the dots.  Namalee is a direct reflection of the energy, colour and individualism that the Basso & Brooke label represents and provides the duo with a truck load of exciting inspiration to pour directly into their design work.  She sings, she runs a magazine ('Super Super' in case you're interested  http://www.myspace.com/thesupersuper), models and generally spends time helping to style and inspire the Basso & Brooke collections.  Although it's difficult to find information on exactly how any particular brand works with their muse I think Namalee's personal style definitely seeps through into the Basso & Brooke collections and her wonderfully thrown together mis-matchy styling has rubbed off on the team as she now styles for their shoots and catwalks.  The following pics are of Namalee with Basso & Brooke and one of the looks that she has styled for the catwalk.  The hat, the necklace, the dress and the general 'maxi-maximalism' that Namalee describes her style as being plays a huge part in the overall spectacle of the label.

all images at http://www.myspace.com/namalee

Yes, they even went so far as to incorporating her face into one of their prints.  In this partnership it's the connection of the vivacity between designer, muse and brand identity that cements the relationship and really helps to build up a design direction.  Namalee is perfectly suited to Basso & Brooke and vice versa and the energy that comes from the team is amazing. If you want to see some real Namalee style fun check out No.7 of her YouTube published series 'Relentless Optimism', 'Because We're Worth It'.  In this little number she makes an interesting comment about perceived beauty while the rest of the series touch on a whole bundle of fashion related issues.  Good to see a muse questioning some elements of the fashion industry and perhaps this is part of the appeal of the Namalee package? 

But Where Does it All Come From?

Finding myself in a bit of a design rut this morning I took to flicking through some old magazines and came across an interesting article in Oyster that got me thinking about how the designers and artists of the world stay inspired.  It's not always an easy thing to be inspired.  Sometimes it comes naturally and at other times you have search really hard for it, often feeling less inspired than when you began.  So from what do all the magical, inspired and unbelievable fashion shows come?  How do photographers and artists continually find new ways to express themselves when they feel that perhaps there is simply nothing left to express?

The article was titled 'Fashion Freaks Make the World Go Round' (Oyster Australia issue 57) and gave a quick run down of the quirky personalities of some well known fashion profiles who have come to be known in part due to their eccentricity and fearless attitude to fashion. Featuring avant-garde style queens, Anna Piaggi and Isabella Blow, influential fashion faces, Andre Leon Talley and Karl Lagerfeld, as well as Amanda LePore - the muse of artist David LaChapelle - this article featured the weird and the wonderful of the creative worlds.  The idea of the 'muse' in art and fashion has always played a major role in informing creative works and providing impetus for new ideas as well as a source of personal inspiration for the artist or designer.  The muse provides an open source from which designers can freely borrow, share and find inspiration without having to rely solely on their own experiences and emotions.

The relationship of a muse to a designer is an interesting connection of trust, inspiration and influence.  While designers cannot borrow style and ideas from other designers, the muse can help to form these facets of a label or a collection in a sharing of creative direction and intellectual property.  A free flow of information and interests between a designer and their muse results in the clear development of a brand identity.  The result, is that we get consistency.  The direction of a brand feeds from the label's muse and dissipates into who the brand is designed for.  Before Paris, Milan and New York fashion weeks begin we already know which shows we desperately need to see shots from.  We can rely that our favourite label from the last few seasons will still provide a collection for us to swoon over and it's this 'brand identity' that makes us continually keep coming back for more.  Which is exactly what keeps fashion ticking over and is exactly why the next few posts will look at the weird and wonderful muses which have influenced some of the most well known designers.